Oct 19, 2008

Revisit of some old posts


1) Starting from the oldest, I had written this post 3 years ago about harvesting of human power in gym. From one comment that I got last year, I was happy to know that the idea is getting implemented by some gyms in Hong Kong.

2) I had this list of my favorite top 10 villains in Tamil cinema. Some good ones were missed, as some readers had mentioned and as I Had acknowledged. Check out this recent list by Behindwoods and watch out for overlaps.

3) I like most reality shows involving talent-hunt, be it dance, music, singing or humor. I had posted about one of my fav shows - Nach Baliye, the Season 2 of which was just over when I wrote the post. This Friday, the Season 4 has kick-started. Season 2 was a huge success, with good judges and cute couples. Season 3 was a forgettable one, though I havent watched most of the episodes. It even ended controversially, with court cases and allegations of favoritism/bias. Season 4 looks very promising, with great judges - Farah Khan, Arjun Rampal and Karishma Kapoor (South ex-heroines must have a look at her.. Looks like time has stopped moving forward in her life alone.. she looks almost the same as in 'Dil To Pagal Hai' or 'Fiza'). Among the participants, Jaspal Bhatti is a surprise choice... Hope he caters well to the Bhangra audience. Thee are a few known and newfaces from soap operas, but at least 6 couples look promising. Let it rock!!

4) Another important addition to 'Science in song lyrics' post: "Moongil kAdugalE" from Samurai. I came across this song only recently, and when I heard that it is Vikram's fav song, I can understand. Superbly sung by Hariharsn and brilliantly penned by Vairamthu, the following lines have some wonderful references to scientific events, linking them with philosophy and humanity..
In the second stanza, he goes:
"Uppu kadalOram mEgam uRpathi AnAlum
upputhaNNeerai mEgam oru pOdhum sindhAdhu
i.e., Even though clouds originate from salty sea, it never rains salt water)

Malaiyil veezhndhAlum sooriyan marithu povathilllai
nilavukku oLiootti thannai neettithukkolgirathu"
(Though the sun disappears behind the hill, it doesnt die; it enlightens the moon and extends its longevity)

Then, he says
"Jananam maraNam aRiyA vaNNam nAnum mazhaithuLi AvEnO"
(Will I become like rain which has no birth or death?)

The first part beautifully talks about the natural process of distillation. For the question of why salt doesnt evaporate alongwith water is bcos the vapor pressure of salt is very low. Thus, the evaporation of water from sea separates pure water from saline sea.

In the second part, the process of reflection of sunlight by moon is poetically described. Vairamuthu says that it elongates the life of sun.

In the last part, the fundamental chemical theory about conservation of molecular structure upon physical changes is narrated. Water, or any chemical for that matter, can neither be created nor be destroyed due to the physical processes that take place around or with them. For that, chemistry is required. Vairamuthu compares that law to the hero's wish of living forever without a knowledge about life or death. If his wis was granted, he would be like 'Hancock'.

5) In an earlier quiz, I had asked about the uniqueness of Harris Jeyaraj. Now, what is unique about our Gaptun Vijayakanth, Surya and Vikram, which separates them from others such as Sivaji, Rajni, Kamal, Satyaraj, Karthik, Prabhu, Vijay, Ajith, Sarathkumar and 'Mike' Mohan? Since I havent enabled comment moderation, you might find the answers from others' comments.

PS: Oru sudden doubt.. I have some friends who were raised by their grandmothers. As there are so many songs praising mother in Tamil cinema, why is there not a single song praising her in a senti way? (Pl. ignore "Paatti sollai thattAdhey").

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

how abt granny praising grand daughter - Poove poochuduva

Ramya said...

Hi Raju,
Those were interesting.. now am breaking my head on ur quiz..
And ya, I too realize there are not songs praising grand mothers.. Is it because they were already praised enuf as mothers?...
but when i thought of grand mothers in cinema.. 'Poove poochudava' song came to my mind.. in chembaruthi Is there any paati-peran melody??
am nt sure..

Ramya

Anonymous said...

top star's song Nadanthal in Chembaruthi..but it's a claiming bloodline song. :-(

Anonymous said...

Raju,

Raising is one thing and raising with love and care is another. In most households, grandmothers play favoritism among grandchildren, also they mock their daughter-in-law in front of the kids. I think it has been stereotyped that grandmas are evil and so no praising songs for them.

Ramya said...

Matrix, not really.. as mother in laws they might be evil... not as grandmothers.. I hv seen sum friends brought up fully under grandma's love and concern eventhough their mothers lived with them.

Anonymous said...

Ramya,

I did not say all the grandmothers. Exceptions are there :)

Ramya said...

Matrix, Agree:)

Anonymous said...

Poove poochudava song...

another lovely song in a malayalam film though 'alakadalil', in chandhupottu:-)


-kajan

Anonymous said...

Gaptun, Surya and Vikram have not acted as anti-hero?

Raju said...

Anon, but someone praising their nanny? Also, the lyrics of 'Poove poochoodavaa' are so general that the song can be sung for any relationship.
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Ramya, hmmm... ennadhan mothers-a praise aagiyirundhalum paatti aanadhukkapuram avangalai paada yaarum illaiye.. Idhu eppadinna, cf. the movie dialogue "oru perano pethiyo en mele moocha pogalenna indha kattai vegathu"... Already avanga parents-a irukkumbodhu avangaloda kuzhandhai moocha poyirukkumey... adhu podhaadha-nnu namma kekka mudiyadhu ille.. andha madhiri-nnu ninaikkiren...
No such song in "Chembaruthi" too..
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Anon, yeah true... the last thing I want to hear about "praising" a granny is by calling her "solladi" and "gnaanappennE".. ;)

Raju said...

Matrix, what boss, ippadi oru gundai thookki podureenga.. hmmm.. I had some loving grannies.. but I have seen some partiality towards me too.. thats probably bcos I was living in the house with her, and my cousin visited during the summer. She remarked that the granny loves only me, not her.. She concluded so because the granny put two sweets in my plate versus one in hers.. ;)
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Ramya and Matrix, hmmm... both the things happen.. I remember, Matrix, comparing the 'Pechikizhavi' of Vidathu Karuppu with your granny... ;)
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Kajan, oh is it? I will check out that song in youtube..
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Pappuli, absolutely right!

Anonymous said...

"She concluded so because the granny put two sweets in my plate versus one in hers"... awww that's so cute :-) ..how i wished my granny did the same to me * sob sob *

Anonymous said...

Raju.. when talking abt partiality, I should say grannys r more partial towards perans to pethis.. pethi epaadiyum vera oru veetuku poga porava.. peran dhaane vamsatha continue panna pora varisu... adhoda, payyan na 'aambala singam' adhu idhu pinju manasulaye male chavunism a kalandhuduanga sila paatimaargal.. since u mentioned ur cousin s a girl, these things came to my mind..

Raju said...

Matrix, :) yeah, even at that young age, I felt proud of myself at being my granny's pet, and also cute of my cousing saying that..
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Ramya, ha.. ippadi generalize pannitteengaley.. I think it is more a case of the 'wanted' grandchild. Among my relatives, I know of at least two families; in one, she wanted a granddaughter because she had all three sons. So, the granddaughter born was given a queen-like status. In the other, though she had 2 daughters, all the kids born in that generation (some 5 or 6) were all boys; so there again the girl born was their pet. Funnily, the next child born to another son was also a girl but by then all the attention had gone to the firs; so, that daughter-in-law was like "che... I just missed the opportunity to deliver the first 'golden' grandchild by a few months'... :) All in families..